Cambridge - a Beacon Council

12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Sun 6th Apr 2003

Liberal Democrat controlled Cambridge City Council has been awarded the status of "Beacon Council" for its work in the field of Quality in the Built Environment. The award was made by Nick Raynsford, Local Government minister, last week and collected by City Council officers and Coun. Nicola Harrison, Executive Councillor for the Environment. Chelmsford and West Dorset were the other winners in this category.

The category covers a wide range of issues - standards of urban design including projects in the public realm such as streetscapes, quality of architecture, sustainability issues in urban design, maintenance of public realm, forward planning policy, environmental projects etc. SHAPE, the new Cambridge centre for architecture and the built environment, due to be launched soon, is believed to have been a contributing factor.

Coun Harrison said "I think the award reflects the fact that we have the right policies in place and that we have the resources and capacity, including partnerships, to deliver quality projects, directly through the public sector and indirectly by the private sector through the planning process."

Coun Harrison also praised City Council staff whose work had led to this award. "It is a recognition of the standard of their work and their commitment to serving our community." she said.